One U.S. Army missile system is a tube launched line of sight missile which relies on its forward wings to provide lift during flight. Thus, the position of the center of gravity of the missile in relation to its wings is of utmost importance to its flight characteristics. During a recent development program it was noted that the nose portion of one type of wire guided missile (TOW) tended to dip downwardly during flight. It was, therefore, decided to change the flight characteristics of the missile by changing the center of gravity of the missile. This may be accomplished by adding ballast to the aft fuselage of the missile. However, the missile fuselage is assembled together in sections with the use of magnaformed joints which cannot be easily reassembled once removed. Therefore, it was desirable to find a way to add ballast to the missiles without breaking the skin of the missile or the magnaform joints.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an add-on ballast assembly for a missile.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a ballast assembly that may be assembled to the missile in a fast and facile manner.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide such an add-on ballast assembly to a missile without breaking the skin or joints of the missile while maintaining the missile's aerodynamic configuration.